1) Paradisea Anchorage, Marina Chahue, MX PANAMA POSSE NAMING RIGHTS !!! Thanks to Bob from Paradisea we have the location for a new anchorage outside the Marina Chahue and we have aptly named it
the Paradisea Anchorage – so as you need to wait for your weather window to jot across the Tehuantepc to Chiapas – here is the link
http://www.goodnautical.com/mexico-pacific/anchorage/paradisea-anchorage

(note A big thank you from  all of those who will follow in your wake)


The Marina Chahue is closed to new sailboats because of flooding.
But,  harbormaster Ezekiel is helpful.  We dinghy into the marina to dump trash, park dinghy to eat in town. Local worker Tito brought out diesel and LP gas, cleaned bottoms, laundry.  Anchorage remains rolly & windy afternoons.  No other anchorage with marina access & internet connection ( via Skyroam).  Day trips waiting for WX window…limited. Bob


Bob & Maureen


PARADISEA

2) Tangolunda Bay – Toccata Anchorage, MX PANAMA POSSE NAMING RIGHTS !!!

And not to be outdone around the corner is the newly named Tangolunda Bay – Toccata Anchorage

So depending on your needs / wind and swell conditions you now have 2 choices !

http://www.goodnautical.com/mexico-pacific/anchorage/tangolunda-bay-toccata-anchorage
Tangolunda Bay - Toccata Anchorage

(note A big thank you from all of those who will follow in your wake !)

“we anchored in Tongalunda, the bay east of the marina lined with high end resorts. We never went ashore, we did however notice buses and shuttles headed that direction when we were in the marina. The area on the west side  was sheltered from the swell when we were there.”


Steven & Marilyn

TOCCATA3) Bahia Samara, Costa Rica 

Happy Dance is currently anchored in Bahia Samara, and will be sailing to Bahia Ballena in the morning (Sunday the 13th).  We are happy, HAPPY to be past the papagayos and enjoying some calm anchorages.  After checking in to Costa Rica in Playas del Coco (which was not an easy process for us due to closures), we spent a few days having some boat work done while anchored on the north end of the gusty bay.  After finally getting our papers stamped we enjoyed a few peaceful nights anchored off of Playa Iguanita listening to the howler monkeys and the birds.  Then we went a few miles south to Playa Guacamaya and really enjoyed it there, walking the long beach, snorkeling, and playing in the water. It felt like we were finally back into cruise mode after fighting winds and gusty anchorages for so long.  For those of you heading south, we recommend Guacamaya!

Here’s a photo our friends took of Happy Dance in the sunset next to Isla Chora.
http://www.goodnautical.com/costa-rica/anchorage/bahia-guacamaya

Sue & Marty

HAPPY DANCE







4) Punta Cabeza, MX – Acapulco, MX
Punta Cabeza Negra South – 18 35.352 N   103 41.892 W – 35 feet in sand/mud. This anchorage doesn’t offer much other than turning the trip to Z-Wat into a few day trips versus an overnight. Again, great weather conditions but very rolly and I didn’t want to deploy a stern anchor or flopper stoppers in the event we needed to make a quick exit if the weather changed on us because the anchorage was fairly small. Both C-Map and Navionics charts were not accurate at this location.

  • Caleta de Campos – 18 04.337 N   102 44.905 W – 35’ in sand. This was a very nice anchorage, both scenic and interesting. We had one other boat with us and this spot could have probably fit another 2 or 3. We didn’t go ashore but there is a small, very active beach town, with what appeared to primarily consist of locals. It would be a great beach to stretch the legs on and probably a pretty easy landing with the dinghy to the north.
  • Zihuatenejo – no need to provided anchorage info as it is well covered. This was our first time visiting and we liked the town a lot. Local info can be found on facebook and www.porlosninos.com . We ate at a place called Tentaciones which has fantastic views of the bay and first class food. Set menu and a little pricey but well worth the cost. Probably in the top three restaurants I’ve been to in all of Mexico.  
  • Playa Escondido – 17 16.073 N   101 03 .357 W – 35 feet in sand. We tried anchoring in the town to the north (2 times / Bahia Papanoa) and in each case we couldn’t get the anchor to set in what appeared to be a rock shelf without anything to catch the hook on so we went around the corner to the southern anchorage and the anchor set hard and fast. This was a great anchorage although a little rolly. We could have deployed a stern anchor or flopper stopper to mitigate this but it was fine enough conditions for the people we had on board. Decided to stay and extra day here as it was a great bay to boogie board, kayak and walk the beach. A number of palapa restaurants, ate at one, nothing to write home about but the setting was fantastic and the beer was cold. Bonus, we had the entire anchorage to ourselves.  
  • Acapulco – Acapulco Yacht Club docks – this was a very difficult marina to get a hold of prior to arrival and nobody we have met on site speaks any English, so with our limited Spanish it makes it even more difficult to communicate other than face to face with Google Translate. We decided to just show up and if they didn’t have room we’d drop the hook or see if Vincent had a ball that could accommodate our size. I was able to hail them on 16 but due to my limited Spanish, all we understood was gas dock so we went and docked there. It is about 120’ long, and is a fixed concrete dock. The office gal Mary was out of the office so we arranged to stay on the gas dock for the evening without power. The next morning we talked with Mary, checked in (Mary takes care of signing you in and out of the Port also) and moved to a side tie floating dock at a rate of 1.50 per ft plus power and water. Fantastic facility with all the normal yacht club amenities eg restaurant, pool, locker room with showers, spa, tennis court, gift shop and small tienda with a few grocery stores within a couple of miles. We’ve been here a couple of days, saw the divers which was worth the effort to get there, went to Puerto Marques by cab to check out the marina but the office was closed and no one was available to answer any question on rate or availability for transients. Our take away is that this is a great stop over for transiting north or south but we wouldn’t consider it a destination stop.

Our plan is to stay at the YC until tomorrow, move to the Puerto Marques anchorage, then head south to the Huatulco area on Monday via overnight trip in order to catch a T-Pec window currently forecast for this coming Friday/Saturday. FYI – the zip line in Puerto Marques is so high there is zero chance that even the largest sailboat would have to worry about striking it and we hope to see a few people cross when we are over there because none of us are brave enough to try it ourselves!  

Cheers,

FLOATING STONES

Bryan & Cheryl

(note – Bryan’s excellent reports have been added to Good Nautical and are now geo referenced accordingly)

http://www.goodnautical.com/mexico-pacific/anchorage/playa-escondido
http://www.goodnautical.com/mexico-pacific/anchorage/caleta-de-campos-0

http://www.goodnautical.com/mexico-pacific/anchorage/punta-cabeza-negra-south




5) Near Acapulco, MX
PICTURE OF THE WEEK

“Schooner Winds of the World  finally escaped from Barra de Navidad!! Crew members Mike Talotta and Curtis Davies are a great help.Had good sailing conditions to
Ixtapa with the typical light winds at night and in the morning; a bit blistery during afternoon and evening. We plan to continue on the 17th to Huatulco, with a brief afternoon stopover in Puerto Marques (Acapulco)”
Dan, Mike & Curtis

WINDS OF THE WORLD







6) THE BURGEES ARE FLYING


YOSHAN has their burgee !!!





BANDIT has their burgee

Image 224

7) Pie del Gigante, Nicaragua

Safely anchored in Pie de Gigante. We got up at 4:30. It was blowing about 10 knots. No real gusts.
We were up anchor and going by 5. Out of the bay and down the coast 10 miles. We saw some gusts but short lived.

We have observed it’s often calmest from about 4 am to 8:30 am.
That is our best window for this windy windy Place !

Also often calm around sunset
Jim & Suzy

OCTUPUS GARDEN





8) Puerto Quetzal -GUATEMALA – UPDATE 
 Has any one have comments on Puerto Quetzal- Guatemala ?
(note from Carinthia
~ 500 usd + to clear in and only stop in Guatemala so most of us have cruised on by or
visited Mayan sites from Chiapas Mx. If you do go we’d love a detailed report .
Marina Pez Vela email is edonis02@gmail.com vhf 71 to clear in and out)

(note from RAVEN
You can get a Anclaje Permiso for around $100, but no shore landings are permitted. Really only worth it in cases of fatigue or emergency)

Argan & Gloria

MAI THAI



9) FLEET POSITION UPDATES
as of Mon Jan 14th 2019 from our weekly LINE call at 16:00 UTC


CHARLY –  anchored at La Cruz, MX

SLOW DANCER – Tenecatita, MX SINGLE D – Barra de Navidad, MX
FIGMENT – Barra de Navidad, MX
…when you’ve a chance would really like to know your routing. Bahia del Sol to Gulf of Fonseca then SE or direct or ???
Answer by Sprezzatura
From Bahia Del Sol went straight across to Puesta del Sol. Pretty rough out from Fonseca. Took a ($$ costly) one day break in Puesta del Sol and would only stop if you need the break or want to stay for some time to explore NIC or leave boat for some time.
Then did a foot on the beach to B Santa Elena. Mostly pretty easy but last 8 hours pretty tough again. Santa Elena , Costa Rica was a fantastic anchorage.

FIREFLY – Barra de Navidad, MX
LIQUID – Barra de Navidad, MX
SEA GLUB – Barra de Navidad, MX  but heading to the anchorages nearby tomorrow for a few weeks

DESTINATION – departing – Barra de Navidad, MX fro Ixtapa

JASINA – Zihuatanejo, MX

NILAYA – Zihuatanejo, MX
MAI TAI – 4 hours before arriving at Acapulco, club de Yates – I am heading to Huatulco Sunday for the crossing, what was the date of your pin drop I assume is the bay where the marina is? In navigating the tpeck what was your guidance on distance from shore, like did you stay 3 mi off or 1 mi off or always in 10’ of water or 100’ of water and how close did you get to Salina Cruz and what obstacles should I be aware of

(note check Carinthia’s 2018 route in Good Nautical
double click anywhere to get LAT & LONG for WAYPOINTS
http://www.goodnautical.com/route/marina-chahue-marina-chiapas-gulf-tehuantepec

Image 229

FLOATING STONES – en route to Huatulco, MX
MADELEINE – back in marina Chiapas, MX after a fantastisch 5 day tour with Luis to Palenque and San Cristobal
PARADISEA – Chiapas, MX
AVANT – Bahia del Sol, El Salvador
RAVEN – Bahia del Sol, El Salvador

TOCCATA – Bahia del Sol, El Salvador
FREE SPIRIT – San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua

SPREZZATURA – Playa de Cocos, Costa Rica

HAPPY DANCE – Bahia Ballena, Costa Rica

CARINTHIA – Vista Mar Marina, Panama
SEA GLASS  Vista Mar Marina, Panama
KNOT RIGHT  Vista Mar Marina, Panama
DAD’S DREAM – Vista Mar Marina, Panama




10) The Panama Posse is now 83 vessels strong and growing
and on the move with 7 flag states flying the Panama Posse burgee !

 

we had 83 last year by MAY so we are well on our way to our goal of 100

11) WEEKLY 2018-2019 PANAMA POSSE FLEET CHECK IN and MORNING NET on MONDAY’S at 16:00 UTC via LINE
We have over 57+ vessels in LINE and the calls are great and very efficient and the Chatroom is open 24/7
It’s a new way of doing things – please download and install LINE  https://line.me/en-US/ 
Works on Android / ios / Windows / MAC OS


How to use it ….

– Register using your vessel name as the USERNAME ie    SV SEAGLUB
Search for panamaposse or SV Carinthia or Seaglub and befriend us –
– wait and accept your PANAMAPOSSE GROUP INVITE
– join the group chat – it’s awesome !





12) Please reply to this email with … anything really

– your updates
contenders for picture of the week links to your favorite SONGS
– relevant blog posts – and of course your valuable suggestions

and we’ll include it in the next FLEET UPDATE

13) Keep em ‘coming

– we are currently dog sitting OPAL from Secret Water – T minus 3 days for generator FIX
Dietmar & Suzanne

CARINTHIA

14) opt-out from the Fleet Updates simply reply with “REMOVE